


do ya like jazz?

by pepperpotsnpans



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Gen, I swear this isn't crackfic, Jonathan Sims (Mentioned) - Freeform, Martin Blackwood (Mentioned) - Freeform, Oneshot, S1 era archive gang, The pining is real, a "there are worms but nothing supernatural going on" au, canon atypical lack of worms, it was supposed to be crack but that wasn't what happened, rating is for language because Tim swears and I cannot stop him, whole plot references to The Bee Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24835555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperpotsnpans/pseuds/pepperpotsnpans
Summary: “So do you like jazz, Sash?”Pointedly sipping her wine, she said, “I'm an archivist, Stoker. Of course I like jazz.”It's Tim's turn to pick material for movie night, and naturally he picks The Bee Movie. And its probably... definitely because of the wine and the long week that he's cuddling up to Sasha. And he's definitely imagining that she's leaning into him, too.
Relationships: Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	do ya like jazz?

The air was still in Tim’s flat when he and Sasha got home from the bar. It was only 10 or so, to which Tim bitterly remarked “Sash we’re soooo old! Practically grannies now. The Worm War has caused me to prematurely grey, no doubt.” 

“You are very much not my granny, nor have you gone grey.” 

“Are you sure?” 

Their eyes met briefly before she leaned up on her tiptoes to look at his hair. Poking at his head, she confirmed her findings with a nod, “Definitely.” 

They were standing a little closer than necessary, and Tim was suddenly struck by something Martin had said earlier in the week –  _ it has everything to do with you _ . Blackwood certainly was a perceptive little bugger. Not that he was little. Or that he bothered Tim at all. 

Straightening himself, Tim tried to de-escalate their situation (however imagined it may have been) with a quick, “We can keep drinking if you’d like.” 

He caught Sasha smirk a little, but she agreed nonetheless. “What have you got?”

They cracked a bottle of wine, some cheap crap Tim had bought for this very purpose, and cozied up on the couch to watch a movie. Sasha gave her usual chorus of “Pick whatever”s and “I’ll watch anything”s, which Tim knew from experience were all lies, but he was just buzzed enough to play with her anyway. 

“Why do you even have this on DVD?”

“Because it wasn’t released on bluray.” 

“This is a kids movie, Timothy.”

“That isn’t what you said when we watched _Inside Out_ , and this has an equally important social message.”

Sasha couldn’t argue with that point and allowed him to press play on The Bee Movie. Tim knew they had both seen it before, but Sasha also allowed him to commentate as if she’d never seen it, so he couldn’t complain. The further into the bottle of wine they got, the less the movie really mattered anyway.

“So  _ do you like jazz _ , Sash?” 

Somehow he had ended up facing his body towards her on the couch, and when she turned to look back at him she threw her hair over her shoulder and twisted to match him. Pointedly sipping her wine, she said, “I'm an archivist, Stoker. Of course I like jazz.”

Pfft. “I’ll text Jon to check your logic there. You’re a better archivist than he is, but he fits the stereotype better for sure.”

“Hey you asked the question! And I was answering even though you were just meme-ing, was I not?” 

For the first time in his life, Tim wished a little bit that  _ he _ liked jazz.

Their play fighting was easy, and the glint in her eye mesmerizing. Even with their work related banter, it was nice to forget about the world outside for a while. Movie night was just for them, where they didn’t have to be archival assistants at a spooky insitute or 30-somethings who couldn’t drink like they used to. 

“Obviously, the point they’re making here is that it would be all  _ Silent Spring _ without the bees, but I think they exaggerated it a bit. Y’know, for the kids to understand.”

“Bees are very important to the environment and these bees talk! Were you looking for realism? Anyway if you’re still getting that message from this movie then I’m impressed.”

Tim turned up his nose, “Miss James, this is an important conservationist film, what are  _ you  _ getting from it?”

Sasha shot him a wicked smile, and Tim couldn’t be sure if it wasn’t just the alcohol but then she was inching closer to him on the couch and leaning in to say, “I’m getting that she really left that man for a talking bee.”

“What’s not to love about Barry the bee? He’s a man of culture.”

She shook her head, laughing, At this point, Tim knew his face was flushed from the wine and that she would probably forgive him for a little stupidity. Even if she didn’t, Tim was okay being an idiot if he was her idiot. Feeling brave, he leaned in closer to her again and finished with, “…like me, of course.”

He really hoped he wasn’t just imagining the fondness in her tone when she repeated, “Of course.”

Neither of them backed out of each other’s space, either. 

“How accurate do you suppose the legal stuff is?”

By this point, Tim had his arm unabashedly around her shoulders, but still managed to shrug.

“Not very. Had a mate in publishing who was into the legal fuckery. From what I remember ‘no media does the courtroom justice’ or something like that.”

Very rudely (if you asked Ms. Stoker, as a young Tim and Danny once might have), Sasha used her wine glass to point at the screen. “If I were a judge, and a bee came to me wanting to sue human beekeepers, I think I would hear them out.”

“You would?’

“Yeah.”

Buzzed!Sasha clearly was content with that answer, but after Tim stared at her long enough she added, “I mean, I wouldn’t know I guess, but I’m sure there’s a loophole that if the bee considers himself a person and the law is for all people…I mean he would have a right to a fair trial don’t you think?”

“Sureeeee.”

“Come off it, you know my logic is good.”

“I wasn’t going to fight you on that, Sash,” he squeezed her shoulders a bit for emphasis, “just amuses me that you’d run a trial for a bee.”

“You called him a man of culture.”

“Fair.”

By the end of the movie, Tim had sobered a bit but decided to reward himself by holding her a little longer. He’d probably regret this later, when she’d gone home or worse, slept as far on the other side of his bed as she could, but it was the weekend. Live a little, Stoker!

As the credits rolled, Sasha quirked her head to the side and asked plainly, “But did she fuck the bee?”

Surprised at Sasha’s sudden tomfoolery, Tim couldn’t help but lose it for a moment. 

“I mean, physically probably not? Right?”

“Sasha she definitely fucked the bee. Maybe not…oh probably like on an emotional level, y’know?” 

That answer seemed to satiate her, “I mean, if I had to pick a bee…”

“That isn’t even a question – any human would go for a bee like Barry.” 

“He’s cultured.”

“Pollination is his…” They both broke into fits of giggles before Tim could finish, and they rolled through the credits that way, laughing at each other’s low brow jokes.

Yawning, Sasha stretched and collapsed back into the couch. She hadn’t complained about his arm around her, and Tim wondered idly if she’d figured out what he wanted and was just teasing him at this point.  _ More likely it’s not what she wants. _

“I hated your movie choice, obviously.” 

Tim muttered a form of agreement, leaned over to kiss her temple, and reached again for the remote to turn off the DVD. The movement had caused him to lose focus though, and once he’d managed the power button, he became very aware of her hand on his thigh. 

“Tim?”

“Sash?” 

They sat in that silence for a moment, Tim very much missing the distraction of the yellow TV screen. Sasha’s brow was furrowed, and she was clearly contemplating what to say. Maybe how to say it. Tim tried not to wonder. 

“I had a really lovely time tonight. With you…we always have a good time and drunk movies are great…ugh y’know I just want to say I’m sorry.” 

He blinked. “For what Sash?” 

Her face fell a bit. “For choosing work over you.”

_ Oh. _

“Sasha, you didn’t – I mean it wasn’t that simple and Gertrude –“ 

“Buuuuut that  _ is _ what happened, Tim! And in the end I – honestly I didn’t get either of the things I wanted.”

_ Oh no.  _

Tim looked forward again, trying and failing to iron out his thoughts. She almost never talked about their would-have-been relationship, and certainly not in terms like that. Tim didn’t like admitting to himself how badly he had wanted her, had wanted to make it work, had thought about them settling down and moving on and leaving the institute. He didn’t like admitting that movie night every Friday after drinks with Jon (and then Martin) was his favorite part of the week, even when he used it as an excuse to watch the fucking Bee Movie like a drugged-out teenager. 

She startled him out of his thoughts before he could formulate a response. “And somehow, the only thing I really learned from watching this…bee-themed…environmental Aesop court drama…is that I clearly still want one of them. Because why else would I put up with this.” She motioned to the television again. Their blurry reflections on the blank screen showed Tim she was looking at him quite intently. 

In lieu of a verbal response – Tim’s brain was short-circuiting and his instinct to play dumb and back down was not welcome – he twisted around to kiss her. 

She was just as soft as he remembered, and it occurred to him that she might be surprised at his reaction, so he pulled away slightly.

“Is this what you want?” He breathed, daring to open his eyes halfway and then saying, with slightly more volume, “Or is it the Head Archivist position because I’m pretty sure Jon doesn’t want it anymore.” 

She laughed giddily, repositioning herself by climbing into Tim’s lap. That was answer enough for him.

The next kiss wasn’t so soft. It was teeth and tears and everything Tim had been missing. Both a little clumsy from the wine and the fact that it was almost Saturday at this point, they held onto each other like they were afraid of falling (but they both knew they were past that). Sasha was apologizing between breaths for ruining what they had had before and promising not to leave again, Tim reassuring her that he was hers to have and had been since then. When they had calmed down considerably and finally come comfortably apart, he said definitively, “I would’ve chosen Barry out of the stack a lot sooner if I’d known this was coming.” 

“Tim please – “ she was sniffling still, but he could tell he was succeeding at cheering her up again.

“We’ll tell our grandkids about this of course. They’ll be blown away by our good taste in cinema.” 

“Tim!” Sasha was nearly squealing now, and he took that as his cue. 

Sighing, Tim waited for her eyes to meet his before saying, “Next Friday, let's go out, just the two of us, okay? For real dinner and a movie if you want. We can lie to Jon and Martin.”

She clucked at that, “Jon won’t even hear what you tell him and Martin will see through the lie.”

“I know. I just mean like, I want to date you, Sasha James. I will let you pick a romcom for next week, or whatever you want. Who cares about how far up our asses our heads were before, let's do this right.”

Sasha looked like she might tear up again, but hid her face as she hugged him tightly. “I like the way you think.”

“But like, please don’t leave me for a bee.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first time I've posted fic in about 10 years but here we are! This podcast changed me I guess. Once I caught up I immediately started writing S1 fic to cope so *shrugs*. Also blame @steamingcupoftea for beta'ing and convincing me to write this and for missing Tim with me 24/7. You can find me on tumblr @pepperpotsnpans and probably at a Magnus sideblog sometime soon...thanks for reading <3


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